West Des Moines, Iowa – Speaking to a high school audience at this morning’s “Rock the Caucus” event. Rick Santorum urged students to become politically active.

“You need to hold the president, presidential candidates, members of Congress accountable because it’s your future,” he said, flanked by his wife, Karen, and six of their seven children. “I know you’re worried about your education, you’re worried about the job you’re going to get. Those are short-term worries. The longer-term problems are the ones that are going to affect you more profoundly.”

“Hold those candidates to the standard of solving the intractable problems of an exploding federal government, of an exploding debt that is going to crush your economic future,” Santorum urged. “Make sure that they stand up and deal with systematic problems of entitlement, they deal with the systematic problems of government that is doing more and more and giving you less and less freedom. That is what I would challenge you.”

He wore, of course, a sweater vest.